“Where is Mom?” I ask as Josh pours himself a cup of coffee.
“Oh, she went home to shower and change,” Meg says. “She said she had a committee meeting or something to go to, but she'd be back this afternoon.”
“Well, I've got some pancake batter that's been waiting for you,” Olivia smiles. “Just let me reheat the pan and I'll get you fixed right up.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Josh smiles. “Uh, where are the munchkins?”
“Oh, they're in the family room with Scottie and Pat,” Meg says.
“Pat?” I ask.
“My nanny,” she replies, as if I really should know the woman's name by now. “She's wonderful, Sam! I don't know how you manage without one. You should really think about cloning her.”
I roll my eyes at her and smile. “Well, if Olivia ever leaves me, maybe I will.”
“Fat chance of that happening,” Olivia says, smiling at me. And I rub her arm as I walk past her. I love my mother-in-law. With Megan on my heels, I enter the family room and smile as I watch Leo and Livvie singing along with the furry monsters on TV.
“I was so upset when Scott made me leave here last night. I wasn't able to sleep until I got the call from Lucas that they were okay,” Meg whispers, hooking her arm through mine.
“Thanks for being here, Meg,” I whisper. “It meant a lot.”
“Of course,” she smiles. Then she lightly pats my tummy. “How are you? I heard about your little trip to the emergency room.”
“We're fine. I just need to stop stressing about everything,” I say quietly. “Now that they're back where they belong, I can.” I watch the twins a little while longer as they sit, fascinated with the program they're watching, and I smile at little Scottie sitting on the floor with his nanny.
Meg and I turn to go back into the kitchen, and I place my hand on my baby bump. “He moved this morning,” I tell her with a smile. “First time I've felt him.”
“Really?” she smiles, and I nod. “Thought of names yet?”
“No. I've been a little preoccupied lately,” I say sarcastically as we sit down at the table. “What about you? Is Madeline still the frontrunner?”
“Yeah, it is,” she says. “If you're absolutely certain that you don't mind.”
“Oh, Megan,” I say, reaching over to take her hand. “It's so sweet of you to be concerned.”
“Well, I know how close you and Grandma are,” she says. “You might still want to name a baby girl after her someday.”
“Meg, if I had wanted to name a little girl after Grandma, I would have. But I chose to name my daughter after Josh's mom and my best friend. I am very happy that little Olivia Megan is sitting in that family room in there. Use the name,” I urge her. “Besides, Josh and I have already talked about this and we're in complete agreement. After little baby boy Pierce here, we're done.”
“You're sure?” she asks.
“Yes, we're sure!” I smile.
She giggles at me. “Okay. Then Madeline Samantha it is,” she smiles.
“Aww! Really?” I squeal.
“Yes!”
We're giggling and hugging like loons when Josh sits down beside me with two plates of pancakes and bacon. “What has you two squealing over here?” he smiles.
“Nothing,” we say in unison, giggling like teenagers. It's nice to have a little bit of normalcy for a moment in this sea of crazy that we've suddenly found ourselves on. Megan always does that for me. She has a way of making me laugh at myself and my surroundings, even in the midst of turmoil.
She leaves shortly after we finish our breakfast, needing to get little Scottie to a scheduled appointment with his pediatrician. And after they've gone, Josh and I spend some time playing with the twins before he summons Lucas and Lee into the family room so we can talk, and I sit quietly next to him as he explains his plan to the two of them.
“The only glitch is that I can't use police manpower for this little operation, so we'd be on our own,” he says to them.
“We?” Lucas asks with raised eyebrows.
“I meant the metaphorical we,” Josh answers with a slight smile. “Not the collective we.”
“You meant you and me,” Lee speaks up, looking at him pointedly, and Josh blushes slightly.
“I just meant …”
“I'm in,” Lee says with a shrug of his shoulders, cutting him off. “You know that.”
Josh gives him a relieved smile. “Thanks, Lee.”
“You're both nuts,” Lucas spits out.
“Lucas …,” Josh begins.
“No! I'm sorry, but I can't get behind this,” he says, looking from one man to the other. “Look, I realize that you are both highly trained professionals, albeit retired in your case, Lee. But this is crazy! You are talking about getting rid of the security that we just put in place yesterday. All so that you can try to set a trap for this psycho!”
“Lucas, the security will only be gone until we catch this dirtbag,” Josh tells him. “Once he's back in police custody where he belongs, the security goes right back into place. And I was actually thinking of using a couple of them during this operation. Just to round out our numbers a little.”
“Well, that's something at least,” Lucas says, calming down slightly. Then he suddenly looks at me. “And what about Sam and the kids? Where are they during this crazy rogue operation?”
“The twins will go and stay with Olivia until this is over, Lucas,” I tell him. “And Josh and I agree that it'd be a good idea to send their close protection detail with them. Just in case.”
“Okay. I like the sound of that,” he says. And for a moment I think we've actually slipped it past him. But then he suddenly frowns at me. “Wait a minute. You said the twins would go stay with Olivia. What about you, Sam?”
I can feel the blush steal over my face, and I know that I'm staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.
“No! Absolutely not,” he yells at me. Then he turns his glare on Josh. “You cannot possibly think this is a good idea!”
“Lucas, there are practical reasons for Sam to stay,” Josh tells him. “If this is going to work, we need her to lure Scruggs here. It won't work any other way!”
“Bullshit! You find another way,” he yells.
“There is no other way,” Josh says loudly. “I just told you that we can't use police manpower for this. If we could, there would be no question. I'd just get a female officer to impersonate Sam. But we don't have that option!”
“So, let me get Martin on it,” Lucas offers. “Just give it a few days and I'm sure he'll find you a female operative to put on your team. Then you can try your little sting operation then.”
“Lucas, we can't wait another few days,” Josh shouts. “We have already given this asshole nearly a week of our lives, during which he has terrorized Sam, taunted me, kidnapped two of our kids and damn near cost us the third. We are done playing his game. We have to get this bastard out of our lives now!”
“What happened to your promise to me that you would keep Samantha safe,” Lucas yells.
“I have not broken that promise,” Josh says, just as loudly. “I will keep Samantha safe. I will die before I let anything happen to her. You know that!”
They sit staring at each other with murderous eyes, and for a moment I'm not sure who's going to win this standoff. My brother has a very practiced heavy hand at times, something that I know comes from playing the role of the rich and powerful COO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. He's very good at intimidation, bringing even the most hard-nosed business men to heel with just a look. But I believe that one of the things he's always admired about my husband is that Josh has never been afraid to stand up to him. In fact, Josh can be pretty intimidating in his own right, and I think Lucas respects him because of that. When Josh and I first got married, he and Lucas seemed to form a bond between them almost immediately, and I've never actually been certain what was at the core of their close friendship. But I've always suspected their mutual
respect has a lot to do with it.
Lucas slowly nods his head. “Alright, Josh,” he says quietly, looking him in the eye. “We'll do this your way. But you said that you'd be using a couple of the men from the security team on this thing?”
“That's right.”
“I want one of them to be Martin,” Lucas says, referring to his head of security.
“I'd be glad to have him,” Josh says with a nod.
“Okay,” Lucas says after a slight pause. “I hope to God you know what you're doing.”
Chapter Eleven
“Samantha is still pretty shaken up,” I say quietly, lacing my fingers together as I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“Oh, I don't doubt it,” Captain Marcos replies, looking down at me from his standing position. “Even though the twins were recovered fairly quickly, this whole thing has probably sent her into a tailspin. You too, I would imagine.”
“Yes, sir. That's why I'd like permission to work from home for a few days. So I can be near my family 'til things calm down.” I tell them, looking from Marcos to Chief Hampton. He sits behind his desk studying me, and I wonder what he's thinking.
“The psycho who did this?” Hampton asks. “Do we have any leads?”
“We definitely know who we're looking for, sir,” I answer. “We just can't seem to find him. But my men and I are on it.”
He sighs as he looks at me, saying nothing for a long time. “This man abducted your kids and threatened your wife in a note left at the scene,” Hampton says. “This is a very personal case for you, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir. It is.”
He nods his head, looking me in the eye. “Well, we're all well acquainted with your temper around here, Pierce. I think the last thing any of us needs is your short fuse going off in the middle of this very touchy situation. Your request to work from home is not only granted, it's encouraged. You probably should stick close to home for the next few days; I'm sure your wife will appreciate it.”
“Thank you, Chief,” I say as I stand and shake the man's hand. Then I turn to Marcos and do the same. “Captain.”
“You give your wife my regards, Guy,” he says.
“I will, sir.”
I leave the Chief's office and head down to my own, collecting a few of the case files that my men are working on and placing them into my brief case. I'm gathering my things to go when I hear a knock on the office door and look up.
“Hey, Dave.”
“Hey,” he says stepping inside. “So, they went for it, huh?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Hampton said my request was not only granted, but encouraged. Seems he doesn't want my short fuse blowing up all over this thing.”
Conner snorts softly, smirking at me. “If only he knew what you were planning!”
I shrug my shoulders at him. “What? All I'm planning is to catch this asshole, Dave. We lure him in using Samantha as bait, close in on him the minute he enters the house, and it's over. Scruggs is back in police custody, and he and Echols won't be able to touch my family again.”
Conner nods his head with a thoughtful expression. “So, when you catch this dirtbag in your house, the plan is to arrest him?”
“Of course, the plan is to arrest him. You think I'm gonna put a bullet in his head, execution style? I'm a cop, Dave!”
“I know you're a cop, Guy. And you're a damn good one,” he says, looking me in the eye. “Just make sure you remember that when you're pulling this dirtbag off Samantha in a day or two, alright?”
I head out then, reminding my men that I am still on the clock and that they can call or text me anytime if they need me for any reason. On the drive home, I think about Samantha. I was being honest when I told Marcos and Hampton that she was still shaken up. She's trying to hide it and be strong, but I can tell that she's worried sick. And I'm worried that all the stress might send her back to the hospital. I promised Dr. Lake that I would bring Sam in for a check up tomorrow, and I don't know what we'll do if her blood pressure haven't improved. The stress level in our house hasn't let up any so, I'm not optimistic.
I left her at home this afternoon so that I could go in and talk to the Chief and the Captain in person instead of over the phone. And it pained me to leave her, thinking about Scruggs and what he said in that note. But I didn't leave Sam alone. There was a whole slew of family at the house when I left – both of our mothers, my Aunt Celeste and cousin Paul Jr., Lucas was there with Karen and their little boy, Richie. Not to mention Lee and Molly, and Samantha's Uncle Ken and Aunt Jenny. When I pull my truck into the circular driveway of our house, I can clearly see that all that family is still here. It makes me feel good to know that Sam and I have such a strong supportive family to lean on. I don't know that we could get through this craziness without them.
When I walk through the door, I am immediately “wested” by Leo and placed in plastic handcuffs. And I get the greatest joy out of letting him lead me to jail in the family room, where apparently Samantha has been “wested” too, along with Ken Colby, and they're being punished by coloring with Livvie and Richie. I'm not sure what any of us have done to deserve this treatment, but it's fun watching Leo wield his power.
Sam and I spend the next couple of hours playing with the twins and talking to them. Trying to pack in as much togetherness as we can before they have to leave. And as I listen to Livvie singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer in her sweet little three-year-old voice while she sits in my lap with her teddy bear, it just about kills me.
“You okay, son,” Lee says quietly, watching me with a slight frown.
“Yeah. I just …” My voice trails off as I try to pull it together. I lightly run my hand over Livvie's chestnut curls. “What if we can't find this bastard before Christmas?” I look up at him and hold his gaze for a few seconds. “I want my kids back home where they belong before Christmas, Lee.”
“And that's where they'll be,” he says with certainty. “That's why we're doing this now, kid. So that we can end this crap and get on with the holidays. For the children.”
A short time later, the house begins to empty out, everyone saying their good byes and telling Samantha and I how happy they are the twins are back home where they belong. We smile and agree with them. It's all we can do since we decided it would be best if no one knows about our plan except Lucas and Lee. And Mom, of course.
She's the last to leave, and I load the twins' things into her car as she helps Sam get their coats on. They're excited to be going home with Grandma, and they wave happily to me and Sam from their car seats as Mom pulls out of the driveway with the twins' personal security detail riding shotgun.
We walk back into the house hand in hand where we find Lucas and Lee talking to Martin and Clayton, the man who will become our head of security once this thing is over. I spent some time talking with him this morning, and I think we'll get along just fine. He seems to understand what our needs are and that Samantha and I don't want the kind of over-the-top security that Lucas has. We've allowed him to take over the home office in the basement, near the man cave, and the CCTV monitors were installed this morning. The cameras have been strategically placed in the living room, kitchen, family room, mud room and garage. There's a camera at either end of the main hallway upstairs as well, but Sam and I decided we didn't want eyes in any of the bedrooms. Especially ours.
“So, what's the game plan?” Lucas asks as we approach.
“There is no real game plan, Lucas,” I tell him. “With any luck, Scruggs just saw that mass exodus out of here. Hopefully, he was watching us load the twins into Mom's car and send them away for a few days, and he thinks that it's just me and Sam here now. Molly left in Lee's car, so there's no reason for him to think there's anyone here with us now. Except for you, of course. Yours is the only vehicle still out there.”
“So now what? You're all just going to sit here until something happens?” he asks.
“Pretty much,” I sigh. “We go about our lives and wait
for this asshole to show up.”
Lucas holds my gaze and shakes his head a little. “Yeah, well like I said before … I hope like hell that you know what you're doing.” His gaze shifts from me to Sam. “You be careful, Pita.” He kisses her on the cheek and then turns to leave. And once he's gone, I turn and look at the others.
Letting go of Sam's hand, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to me. “Okay. We know that this bastard is out there and that he's coming. We just don't know when or how. So we all need to be on alert from here on out. And you three need to stay out of sight as much as possible. We don't want him peeking in and seeing anyone but me and Samantha.”
They nod in agreement and scatter. And our waiting game begins.
*
It's December 22, and it's been three days. Three long, stress-filled, uneventful, almost unbearable days, and Josh and I are nearing the end of our ropes. He tries to hide it, but I can tell that his nerves are every bit as frayed as mine are. He is quiet and moody, and I know that his mind is working overtime, thinking about all the different ways this little operation of ours could play out.
The frustrating part of all this is that there has been no word. Nothing. Scruggs has made no further contact at all, and I'm beginning to wonder if he ever will. Maybe this is part of the game he's playing. To drive Josh and me mad with the not knowing. Always wondering if he's around the corner, waiting to strike. Maybe that's his plan. Maybe he's not actually coming for me at all, although I don't think I could convince Josh of that. He's been sticking to me like glue. Right now, he's working from the kitchen island while I cook. Lee is camped out in the family room, staying out of sight, and I have no idea where the other two are. Probably downstairs in the security office.
I sigh heavily, thinking about all of this as I go about the task of making dinner. I move around the kitchen missing the twins. Their constant chatter and singing is always a bright spot for me while I'm cooking, and I like seeing them spread out on the kitchen floor with their toys while I'm working in here. But I know that they're having fun at Grandma's. Josh and I talk to them on the phone twice a day, and it is the highlight of our day. Always a very welcome diversion in the middle of what is otherwise an extremely tense situation.
Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set Page 100